Scooters, Refugees, and Birth Certificates

My motorcycle trip threw me off my blogging schedule.  Hey, I’m looking for something to blame … something other than myself, that is … and the motorcycle trip is handy. Speaking of motorcycle trips, I amused myself by going on a short (less than 100 miles) ride this morning, heading down to the Triple T […]

Another Gypsy Tour Comes to a Flat Ending

Some highlights from my long weekend motorcycle trip: I rode from Tucson to Las Vegas on Thursday.  That night the kids and I went out to dinner, along with our friend Rudy.  Rudy’s an old hashing friend; I slept at his house during the trip. I bought a balaclava to wear under my open-face helmet […]

Martians on Motorcycles, Elizabeth Taylor, Eagles & Strike Eagles (Updated)

I’m packing for a motorcycle trip to Nevada and Utah, tomorrow through Monday.  In Las Vegas I’ll stay with a friend, visit with the kids and grandkids, and take some day rides around southern Nevada; on Sunday my son and I are going on an all-day out & back ride to southwestern Utah, with Gregory […]

Fat Tuesday Blogging

My sisters and I grew up in a non-Mardi Gras home: Mom, like all Southern Baptists, observed Lent the whole year round; Dad, an agnostic, pretty much did whatever he wanted to do regardless of the time of year.  I married a Catholic girl, but Mardi Gras wasn’t part of her family’s tradition either.  Oh, […]

In Soviet Union, Crow Eats You

Earlier today, as Schatzi and I emerged from the house for our morning constitutional, a raven lifted off from a palo verde tree across the street. It’s a windy day here in Tucson, so the raven was able to turn into the wind and hover, holding position a few feet away and slightly above us. […]

Responding to Friendly Criticism

I’m getting some hits over two previous posts (Gabrielle Giffords and Political Violence).  As is often the case, the criticisms were emailed directly to me rather than left here as blog comments.  Which ordinarily would mean you wouldn’t get to see them.  It seems a bit like censorship to me, getting reasoned criticism from friends, […]

You Meet the Nicest People on a Honda

There was an interesting thread on Facebook this morning.  US Rider News, a motorcycle magazine, posted a link to a newspaper article about a veteran who didn’t want a veterans’ motorcycle group leading the local Veterans’ Day parade: “I don’t think that’s the image we want,” said Stephen Riggs of West Ashley, a former Army […]